Acetylene-gas generator.



J. L. RICHARDSON.

AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17, 1912.

1,070,355. Patented Aug. 12,1913.

' 2 S HEBTSSHEET 1.

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J. L. RICHARDSON.

AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17,1912.

1,070,355, Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

lV/YQVZLSSES INVENTOR 3n, n Q44 Jerome l Richardson W @wh/smmm cuLumumPLANOGRAPII CO-,\VASHINGTON. u.c.

JEROME L. RICHARDSON, OF RED OAK, IOWA.

AGETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 12,1913.

Application filed July 17, 1912. Serial No. 709,947.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEROME L. RICHARD- soN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Red Oak, in the county of Montgomery and State ofIowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Acetylene-G-as Generators, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to acetylene gas generators and the principalobject of the invention is to improve and simplify the generalconstruction of devices of this character.

A second object of the invention is to provide a novel charging meansfor generators of this description.

With the above and other objects in View, as will be hereinafterapparent, this invention consist-s in general of certain novelconstructions, combinations and arrangements of parts, as willbehereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings,and specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, like characters of reference indicate likeparts in the several views, and

Fig'ure 1 is a vertical median section through a gas generatorconstructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a section onthe line 22, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33, Fig. 1.

The generator consists of an outer shell or casing 10 provided with aremovable top 11. Secured to the side walls of the outer shell or casingare guide rods 12 whereon slide lugs 13 mounted on the upper and lowerends of a bell 14 adapted to rise and fall Within the casing and sealedby water 15 contained in said casing. This bell 14 has a passage 16extending centrally therethrough and provided with an offset portion 17.Mounted within the casing 10 is a pipe 18 which lies close to the sideof the casing and is secured thereto by suitable clips 19. At the upperend of this pipe there is provided a T 20 and from this leads a pipe 21to the burners or main, and in this pipe 21 is located a valve 22.

At the lower end of the pipe 18 there is provided an elbow 23 whichcommunicates by means of a pipe 24 with a second elbow 25 from whichextends a pipe 26 which leads up within the bell 14 and is in alinementwith a pocket 27 extending above the top of said bell.

Leading from the T 20 is a pipe 28 to which is connected a return bend29 which communicates by means of a pipe 30 with a valve 31. From thevalve 31 there leads a pipe 32 which is connected to an elbow 33 whichis in turn connected to a pipe 34. The other end of the pipe 34 connectswith a T 35 from one end of which leads a pipe 36 which connects withthe valve 37.

From the valve 37 a pipe 38 opens into the casing. The stems of the twovalves 31 and 37 are connected by a rod 39 from which ex tends a lever40 provided with a downwardly extending arm 41 adapted to engage thepipe 34 when the parts are in lowered position. The valves 31 and 37 areso arranged that when the lever is in the lowered position as clearlyshown in Fig. 1 the valve 31 will be opened and the valve 37 closed.

Within the passage 16 there is provided a cylinder 42 supported bar across bar 42 and extending from end to end of this cylinder is a rod 43having secured to its upper end a T 44. Mounted on this rod 43 is aplurality of graduated carbid containers 45, the upper and lower oneshaving a series of perforations 46 formed to admit water. These carbidcontainers are separated one from the other by means of spacers 47 andare supported within the cylinder 42 by a spring 48 which has its lowerend resting upon a nut 49 mounted on the threaded end 50 of the rod 43.The openings in the covers through which the spacers pass are of suchsize that the water may pass into the recep tacles through theseopenings.

From the T 44 leads a nipple 51 which communicates with an elbow 52 fromwhich leads a pipe 53. Connecting with the pipe 53 is a pipe 54 havingan open lower end provided with a collar 55 from which extends a lug56.- From the T 35 a pipe 38 extends downward close to the side of thecasing 10 and at its lower end this pipe is provided with an elbow 57which communicates by means of a pipe 58 with an elbow 59, and from theelbow 59 there extends a pipe 60 which is so arranged as to telescopewithin the pipe 54.

Depending from the lever 40 are ears through which extends a rod 56having at one end a handle 57' and at its other end a depending hook 58.

In the operation of the device the carbid containers 45 are charged withcarbid. The lug 56 is engaged with the hook 56 and then the handle 57 isgrasped and pulled. This allows the cylinder 42 with the carbid to dropinto the water through the opening 16. Thereupon acetylene gas isgenerated and passes up the cylinder and enters the T ldfrom whence itpasses upward through the nipple 51, elbow 52, into the pipe 53 and thenpasses downward through the pipes 54 and ('30. The gas then passesthrough the elbows and pipe 58 and upward through the pipe 38, passingfinally out through the pipe 21. It will be obvious that the bell actsas a reservoir for any ex cess gas generated over that to be used.

It is to be noted that when lever a0 is raised to a vertical position itcloses the valve 31 and opens the valve 37 which is connected with thepipe 38. By this means when it is desired to take the carbid containerout for recharging, air is admitted through 38 and down through thevalve 37, T 35, pipe 56, and pipes 57, 58, 59 and 60 to the pipe 5 f,thus breaking the seal in the carbid container so that it can be takenout without raising any water with it. It is to be further noted thatthe reason for making the cans of different sizes is that each is inproportion to its duty. The upper and lower cans are of equal size whilethe remaining cans are graduated from the top down. The openings for theadmission of water in the upper and lower cans are made in the bottom,around the bottom edge and in the flat lid of the bottom can. Theadmission of water to the intermediate cans is obtained by making thehole at the top through which the spacer passes of relatively large sizeso that space is left between the supporting member or pipe and thisopening. The cans above the bottom are provided with inclined covers forthe reason that. there is a constant dripping of water from the roof ortop of the container and this permits the same to run off with outstarting the generation in any other can from that in which it should betaking place. It will be noted that by reason of the plurality ofcontainers for the acetylene, but one is used at a time.

It will be observed that in the generation of acetylene gas from calciumcarbid with this apparatus at the earliest stage of the generation it isdesired to quickly charge the bell with the gas. Therefore, a relativelylarge quantity of carbid is used, the bottom container being larger thanthat next above. By reason of this, a large surface of carbid in itsusual granulated form is exposed to the action of the water with thecorrespondingly rapid generation of the gas. Now, after the carbid hasbeen used sufliciently to permit a second can to enter the water, thewater will still be comparatively free from calcium hydrate in solution,and the small second can will expose enough carbid to the action of thewater to render the generation sufliciently rapid to keep the supply upto the quantity used. However, with each successive generation ofcarbid, the remaining water becomes more and more vitiated by thepresence of calcium hydrate, and consequently it is necessary to exposesuccessively larger quantities of carbid to the action of the water inorder that the rate of generation may be maintained. On this account thecontainers are made successively larger from the bot-tom to the top.

There has thus been provided a simple and efficient device of the kinddescribed and for the purpose specified.

It is obvious that many minor changes may be made in the form andconstruction of this invention without departing from the materialprinciples thereof and it is therefore not wished to confine theinvention to the exact form herein shown and described but it is wishedto include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

-Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is 2- 1.In a generator of the character described, an outer casing, a bellslidably mounted in said casing and provided with a vertically extending11 assage, a cylinder having a closed upper end and an open lower endmounted in said passageway, a sleeve passing through said passageway, apipe leading from said sleeve into said cylinder, a rod extending fromsaid pipe through said cylinder, carbid receptacles mounted upon saidrod, said pipe being provided with an inlet opening adjacent the upperend of said cylinder, an outlet pipe entering said casin a vertical pipecommunicating with the inner end of said outlet pipe and extending tothe bottom of said casing and having its inner end brought up into saidbell above the water line of said casing, a pipe connected with theupper end of said vertical pipe, a valve in said last mentioned pipe, asecond vertical pipe connected with said last mentioned pipe andextending to the bottom of said casing and having its lower end carriedup into said sleeve, a valve for said second mentioned vertical pipe,and means for-operating said valves.

2. A generator of the character described comprising an outer casing, abell slidably mounted in said casing, a cylinder carried by said bell,carbid receptacles mounted in said cylinder, a sleeve passing throughsaid bell, a pipe leading from said sleeve and communicating with saidcarbid receptacles, an outlet pipe leading from said casing, a verticalpipe extending from said outlet pipe to a point adjacent the bottom ofsaid casing and having its lower end carried upwardly into said bell toa point above the water line, a second vertical pipe leading from saidoutlet pipe to a point adjacent the bottom of said casing and having itslower end carried up into said sleeve above the water line, and valvesin said out-let pipe and in said last mentioned vertical pipe.

3. A generator of the character described comprising an outer casing, abell slidably mounted in said casing, a cylinder carried by said bell, asleeve extending through said bell, a pipe extending from the upperportion of said sleeve into said cylinder, a rod extending from saidpipe through said cylinder, a spring mounted at the lower end of saidrod, carbid receptacles mounted upon said rod and supported by saidspring, an outlet pipe leading from said casing, a vertical pipeextending from said outlet pipe to the lower portion of said casing andhaving its lower end carried upwardly into said bell, a second verticalpipe leading from said outlet pipe to the lower portion of said casingand having its lower end carried up into said sleeve, and valves carriedby said outlet pipe and by said last mentioned vertical pipe.

at. A generator of the character described comprising an outer casing, abell slidably mounted in said casing, carbid holders in said bell, anoutlet pipe leading from said casing, a pipe leading from said outletpipe into the lower portion of said casing and up into said bell, asecond pipe leading from said outlet pipe to the lower portion of saidcasing and in communication with said carbid holders, said lastmentioned pipe eX- tending above said outlet pipe and provided with acontrolling valve, a second controlling valve carried by said outletpipe, a link connecting the valve stems of said valves, and operatingmeans connected with said link whereby said valves may be simultaneouslyoperated.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

JEROME L. RICHARDSON.

Witnesses:

MILTON DANBORN, B. F. SPIOER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

